Wish I could make it, Dude! The gal has the car at work until 10. I’ll pick up the book, though. Heard Dan and Al mention it the other night. Going to LA next week, so it’ll make for some good plane reading.

Oh, I totally am! Truthfully, I’m just headed there for a week of partying, good eats, and a day at Dodgers Stadium with the rest of my LA-based coworkers, so it’ll be like 5 hours of business and the rest of the time I’ll be eating and drinking myself to death. ;) What do you recommend at In ‘n Out, Mrs. Dude?

Congrats on the book, dude… Apologies if this is hijacking… there’re no other options here and I like the community of commenters… but TLR’s comments about Edmonds verge on Rovian in their all-but intentional misinterpretation of words from a man utterly unlikely to say the things claimed to have come from his mouth… and, to raise something seriously over-hashed some time back, more drops in the why-I-sided-with-Rolen bucket… was really proud the fans cheered as they did at Busch tonite.

TLR is a clown when he acts like a child. I understand how cruel Chicago’s media can be, so I also understand why Edmonds worded it the way he did. Tony needs to keep his mouth shut and do what he does best: manage. You don’t see his former teammates raising a fuss.

I’m with Tony all the way. I don’t see any reason for him to disguise his feelings if that’s the way he feels. I understand Jimmy’s side too. It’s not the big deal the media wants it to be.
Wish I could get my copy of your book signed, Matthew, but I doubt they’ll send you on a book tour this far East. Good reading.

Nice entries, Kevin, but as a man who works in the media field, the thing you’re told to do from the start is get the scoop, even if you have to make the scoop yourself (not the Dude, thankfully; his field is slightly different from, say, newspapers and other forms of journalism that is founded on distrust–like mine, sadly). What this means is, let’s say I have an interview lined up with the star of Intense Spoiler Theater on Fox. My job is to get interesting things out of said interview, because most interviews will otherwise read very poorly with no flow (which I personally believe you’re in the wrong field if this is the case), so you make up for your professional shortcomings with “catches”, or they’ll read properly like a real conversation, but without the proper questions, “who wants this read this garbage, anyway?”, to quote a boss from many moons ago.

That’s where the problem lies. They could ask Jim Edmonds what his favorite chicken dish is, but nobody cares. They could see how he’s feeling when he takes a cut, but that won’t attract headlines. It won’t crack national news, it won’t get mentioned on the Fox broadcast. So what am I told to do in similar situations? Mislead the actress, get her to fess up about a character dying on the show, see if there’s a quite I can catch her on where she disses her co-star. It causes the actress to deny it to other sources of media; viral marketing at it’s finest (or worst, if you ask me). Personally, I hold myself in too high of regards to do that dirty work. When I have a tough question, I lay it out at the end of an interview after having a nice conversation with the person, where honesty is very present and in your face. I find this to be much better; they know I won’t take anything out of context to throw back at them, and they know I’m not trying to weasel my way around it. I may get a “no comment” and thus a thumbs down from most readers, but I sustain a contact with said interviewee, where I will get better information in the future (or an exclusive) because they respect the way I conduct business.

“What’s this have to do with Edmonds?” you say? Everything. That’s what they do to Jimmy every night in Chicago. They need the hook. They did it to Damon in New York after he departed Boston. This is nothing new, and Dude has mentioned Jimmy’s not fond of the media. Put yourself in his shoes: Chicago is not St. Louis. When he goes into CF every night, he is booed. By his own fans. The media knows the fans hate him, so what better story than a headline of “Edmonds admits St. Louis fans are best,” “Is Jim Edmonds still a Cardinal on the inside?”, “Edmondsgate: 0015 roams the outfield, spying for rival Redbirds.” C’mon now, it’s bait for the media and you’re falling for it. That’s fine, that’s what the media does… but Tony? For Christ’s sake, the man looks like a dolt going into public falling for such a cheap tactic. I’m 23 years of age and apparently know the ropes more than a 65 year old man with more years of ball under his belt than I’ve been breathing.

*I’ve never been told at my current job to do these things. That’s why I work where I work. =)

haha…very nice lesson on the workings of the media, zoop…and yet, unnecessary (especially considering you have no knowledge of my background…)…and completely missing the point.

Zoop…I don’t care if Jim Edmonds gave a lesson on cooking his favorite spinach dish…he’s a Cub. The entire point of my entries was to simply say that Edmonds – and any other Cub for that matter – should never be made to feel welcome in Busch Stadium. I don’t care what he did as a Cardinal…he’s here now as a Cub, and he will be treated as such.

The mentions of his comments on being a Cardinal were simply inserted in my entries to help sway those who may feel a bit guilty for not giving Edmonds a standing ovation or warm welcome…and to point out that Jim himself has no problem with moving on and acting like a Cub, so we should do the same and treat him as one. They were by no means the point and the point was by no means dependent on them.

Having said all of that…if you think Edmonds is not playing both sides of the media in both cities, you’re just hearing what you want.

I love Jim…always have, always will…but I have also learned that the guy has an innate fear of people disliking him…that’s pretty much it. When in Chicago, he will say what he can to be liked in Chicago. When in St. Louis, like this weekend, he’ll warm up to the fans/media here. That’s pretty much it.

All of that, however, is inconsequential…Edmonds is a Cub, now…the Cubs are in Busch Stadium this week to further one of Baseball’s oldest and richest rivaleries…we are in a fierce battle for first place…and what do we do as fans? We make them feel like they’re in Wrigley Field and we’re all buddies.

Disgusting. The Cubs, Jim Edmonds and all, should never feel comfortable coming into Busch…and this love-fest with being called “baseball’s greatest fans” has got to stop. I want to have Baseball’s best team…and I’m willing to play my part in it.

I think, as far as Jimmy goes, you honor what he did for you in his first AB, then he is a Cub and gets the “Royal Treatment” as such. I didn’t care for his comments either, but he has a point. At this point in time, he is not a Cardinal, he is a Cub. It’s time for him to be treated as such. When his time is done, and the number 15 gets retired by the Cardinals, he will get another “Royal Treatment”, one fitting a warrior such as he.

Things that make me proud: Kyle McClellan’s first win as a Cardinals was yesterday versus the Cubs; Ryan Ludwick throwing Rick Ankiel-style to Molina to tag Jim Edmonds at home; Plays of the 9th
[Ludwick getting on in the 9th with the good eye. Molina being impossible to strike out (Ryan running for him). Then credit goes to Kennedy finally getting through the hole on Lee and nearly tying it (Ludick home). Schumaker no DP (double play). Ryan and Duncan getting home.];

no one wants to give Duncan credit…but if Dunc doesn’t do what he’s done the last couple weeks with his resurgent power and finding his swing, they may not want to intentionally walk him. Plus, Duncan has been good all year with runners in scoring position…slump or not.

I agree Kev. Heck, if Duncan’s bat gets back into the swing of things, we may have the other impact bat we need. Not as dominant as people on the trade market (Holliday), but comes for a much better price and allows us to focus on other areas (Left side of the pen)

If it boils down to black and whites such as that, Kevin, then I want no part of it. If I were at Busch, I would’ve stood and applauded in his first AB. The man gave me the best years I may ever see the Redbirds concoct, and he deserves my respect. That said, I hope he goes O for the rest of his career… unless the Cubs have no chance of making the playoffs. The more hits the guy gets, the closer he gets to being in Cardinal red in the Hall… So pile’em up, Jimmy… just do it in 17-0 losses. =D

hehe…fair enough…for me, they are two seperate issues…Edmonds respect (which I will display after he retires) and home field treatment of Cubs players (which IS a black and white to me when we are in a divisional race). I do NOT want visiting players feeling at all comfortable coming into Busch…otherwise, we have very little advantage at home…and that’s just not right.

Unfortunately for Jim…at the present, the second one trumps the first. As long as Jimmy wears Cubs blue, I will NOT cheer for him…even in his first at bat.

but, that’s just me…and that’s okay. I still think St. Louis fans need to stop feeling all proud and warm over being called baseball’s best fans…it lulls them into eliminating most of our home field advantage.

Case in point…the Royals swept us at home…the Cubs took game one at home…in Chicago, the Cubs swept the Sox in Wrigley, but the Sox swept the Cubs at home…I think fan reaction to visiting players plays a part in all of that.

oh…and why do you think Yankee Stadium is such a difficult place for visitors to play? I will take a little bit of that atmosphere to help my team at home…not all of it, ’cause I don’t want to be a jerk, but some of it…

Hey…I wonder if we could start putting “no compete” clauses in contracts like corporations have….If a player leaves St. Louis, they cannot sign with with a list of teams for the remainder of their money contract…

For example, since Jimmy is still being paid 2 million by the Cards this year, then he cannot sign with the Cubs or Brewers for the remainder of this season…once that Cardinals money runs out, he can sign with anyone he wants…but the thing that galls me is that we are paying Edmonds 2 million to try and keep us from the playoffs.

Hey guys, I know I’m WAY late on this, but I just caught the story on St.Louis’ channel 5 pregame. I live in Arkansas, and honestly, we don’t have good sports coverage here. I’m working on that, though. Anyways I heard what TLR said from his own mouth. I also heard what Jimmy said, although from a graphic on the screen. And I goota say LaRussa was much more hateful sounding in his comments. He said we should just “Ignore him. IGNORE HIM!” He raised his voice the second time. Tony laRussa seems to me to be about the most classless human being I’ve ever heard talk. He ALWAYS disrespects players that he obviously doesn’t like. I hate they way he tries to say it’s not personal and, “I’ll say hi to him.” When it’s painfully obvious that it IS personal to Tony.
And I HATE that Jimmy is a Cub, but it’s because of Tony’s attitude that Jimmy left to begin with. It disgusts me to hear anyone say that Jimmy should be treated like any other Cub. That is absolutely ridiculous!!! He’s not just another Cub, just like Willie McGee wasn’t just another Giant when he came here as a member of the opposing team.

Well, I respectfully disagree with you…While I would like to see TLR a bit more personable towards media and others when he loses, I can’t fault him for that…his hatrid for losing and crankiness afterwards is part of what makes him the winning manager he is…but I think TLR has demonstrated class in many areas, especially when it comes to giving opposing teams credit and honoring those who have come before him in the game…but I do have to say, I don’t think TLR’s attitude was why Jimmy left…he left, primarily, because he knew he wasn’t going to get the playing time he had enjoyed in the past. He may have had his clashes with TLR, but a lot of that was based on Edmonds wanting to play every day, hurt or not, and TLR’s theory is that if your star is hurting (like Edmonds) and you have another bench guy that can produce and is 100%, then let your star rest and put your 100% guy out there.

Also I highly doubt that making Jimmy feel comfortable could take away homefield advantages.That is a bit of a stretch to me Kevin. Seriously man, he’s 0 for 7 coming into today in this series. And it seems to me that any player who plays here for as long as Jimmy did is going to feel comfortable when they come back here, no matter what the faans do. Come on, it was home for him for 7 years!! This seems kinda hypocritical anyways. It’s classless to boo a player who is sucking it up, because “he’s trying his hardest.” But it’s NOT classless to ignore a player who meant so much and contributed SO MUCH to this organization, because he now plays for a rival??? That doesn’t make sense to me. I’m not saying we should pitch underhand to him or cheer him every time he makes a catch. I’m saying I think it’s totally appropriate to show appreciation for what the guy did here, and then go out and make him go 0 for 7 in the first two. And hopefully continue that in game 3.

Again…missing the point…he’s a Cub…again…he’s a Cub. Not hypocritical at all…completely consistent…if you’ve followed any of my posts, I have always maintained that booing Cubs players as a Cards fan is the exception…just part of the rivalry.

And…come on…have you ever played the game? Or listened to everyone talk about a player in a slump? The phrase “They’re pressing a bit” or the idea that they’re gripping the bat too hard, swinging out in front, expanding his zone, etc. are all indications of a player who is uncomfortable at the plate for various reasons.

AGAIN…sheesh…my point of view on the Edmonds issue is NOT just about Edmonds…it’s about visiting players and Cubs players in Busch in general…Edmonds is just a prime example. Make the entire team uncomfortable if you can at all…it can only help the Cards. And, yes…Edmonds is an emotion/moment/drama driven player…and was “scared” and “nervous” by his own admission…so I do think it is possible to make him uncomfortable and I do think it is possible for that to affect the outcome of a one run game.

For sure man. And to clarify, I don’t think anyone is missing the point. I think some of us just don’t see that as a valid point. As I said, he’s not just a Cub. And to say and think that is just pretending. Again…he’s NOT JUST A CUB!!! If it were Aramis Ramirez or Derek Lee, then yea. Those guys are JUST CUBS. And booing a Cub, to me, is not the only exception. You can boo ANY opposing player if you want. Especially in specific situations. Yes, I’ve played the game, and yes I know about feeling uncomfortable. The examples you gave can happen in ANY ballpark, to ANY player, at ANY time. So I still say that guys who have played here for YEARS are going to feel more comfortable here.

I see Kevin’s point. Fenway, Wrigley, and Yankee Stadium are tough places to play because the fans are a-holes. Truthfully, I’d like my dignity more than to make the opposing players fear for their lives like they do in those places. I get fans riled up in my section when I’m at the park, but I never do it AGAINST the other team. It’s always FOR my team, and that’s where the line is drawn between us and those fans: we want OUR team to win more than we want THEIR team to fail. In my opinion, that is the proper mentality. I might not throw things at players or cuss them out, but at least I know I’m not an a-hole. ;)

Yeah, I think there can be a middle ground between what we do in Busch now and what is done in Fenway, Wrigley, and Yankee Stadium. I think we can get on a team a little bit without making them fear for their lives or physical harm.

On a side note…I am SO SICK of hearing cheers at Busch when a Cub does something good like hit a HR. Where the heck are the Cards fans???? How do we let so many Cubs fans buy up tickets in Busch?

I don’t know…just, in watching games at Busch this year, on TV and in person…we just seem asleep lately. Sure, we cheer and get into it when something good happens…but other than that, you would think we were playing at a neutral site and we’re “just happy to be here, man.”

I have noticed that same thing at Cubs/Cards games. It’s nothing new, though. My first baseball game was Cubs/Cards back in 1986 or maybe ’87. The Hawk hit a two run first inning homerun, and I remember thinking, “Why are people cheering that?” I asked my grandpa that, and he just said that Chicago is close or whatever. We won that game 10-2, with Vince Coleman hitting a game winning homerun. Last year my only trip to Busch stadium was for a Cards/Cubs series. Same thing. People cheering (loudly) for a Ramirez homer, and I’m getting ticked about it as well. We can’t stop them from buying tickets, but we can attempt to drown them out. Is this a time that it would be ok to boo?? You know, to drown out the cheers. I’m only asking because I want to know. Apparently there are rules of when it’s ok to boo, and when it’s not. I’m trying to get it straight.

Me, I’d take genuine, classy Cardinals fans over the jerks I’ve seen at Fenway, Candlestick, the Vet, Shea and Yankee Stadium any day. The beauty of the Cards-Cubs rivalry for me has always been its incredible intensity – without what I have always seen as the brain-dead hatred and violence associated with NY-Boston and SF-LA. And, if Cardinals fans adopt Philly’s boo-bird style it will be a greater disappointment to me than the transformation of the team into a generally slow, Earl Weaver-style, single-walk-hope-for-a-three-run-homer patterned AL team.

Other than that, however, I couldn’t disagree more about LaRussa showing his class over the years. For the umpteenth time, it started with his treatment of Ozzie that first Spring and has only most recently culminated in Rolen and the ridiculousness w/r/t Edmonds’ comments.

I live in Michigan, the manager of the Detroit Tigers – TLR’s best friend – never dumps on any specific player (present or past) in public… LaRussa has done it repeatedly. In fact, Leyland regularly takes blame on himself for the play on the field… that’s classy. And you can’t tell me LaRussa hates losing more than Leyland.

I love it when fans get into the game, I like to hear the stadium go crazy with cheers every time a cardinals player hits a home run, i don’t even want to hear boos from the other team, i don’t want to hear anything but the cheer of the fans, but when the other team hits a home run, i dislike hearing cheers from our ballpark, it’s our ballpark make more noise than the other teams fans, that way i don’t have to hear them, boo, do something, i don’t care what it is, but all i want to hear is the cardinals fans, call me classless, call me whatever you want, i don’t care, i don’t like hearing cheers for the other team. The occasions “day-um that was a great play,” is tolerated though.

I think part of the reason the fans at Busch are quiet this year is the Cards aren’t playing “exciting” baseball… They are playing scrappy, hard-nosed, fundamental baseball. Even though the fans in St. Louis know that is good baseball there isnt a lot to get excited about when we bunt a guy over to third and somebody hits a sac fly to get him in… Not agreeing with the lack of life at Busch just trying to figure out why it is like that. Maybe if we figure that out we can do something to fix it…

Well I’m with all you who notice Tony LaRussa’s lack of class and respect for other players, once their production subsides. TLR will give a guy all the compliments in the world when he’s doing well, but when a guy struggles for any length of time you better hope he likes you personally. If not you will not get the playing time you need to come out of a slump. If you voice displeasure with that, he’ll call you out in the media. Tony La Russa is the epitome of classless. I can’t wait til he’s gone. I, too, was hoping beyond hope that Jim Leyleand would become manager of the St.Louis Cardinals. Instead we resigned the TLR Administration, and let a great man go to Detroit. The next great possibility came along and we couldn’t compete with Yankees money. Sadly, we signed the Administration on for 2 more years. Sigh!

Let me see if I have this right. It is class-less to criticize a player or former player, or reduce playing time, for someone who is not producing or says negative things about STL (as in TLR w/Rolen and Edmonds?), but, as fans we can boo whoever we want when they are not producing or if they are not wearing the birds on the bat? I’m confused. I think I’ll just stick with being the lifelong STL fan that I am, pulling for my team, and cheering good baseball that’s played regardless of the uniform. As for the “home field advantage” issue, ask Albert if he would rather play a game at Busch or in another park. I’m guessing he would prefer home cooking. I certainly hope so, his contract is only good for a couple more years!

You know…let’s not forget something…Jim Leyland…handed a team many touted as the best in baseball, sure thing to go to the World Series, score a record number of runs…where are they? 44 – 44 and suddenly everyone is THRILLED they’ve managed to play .500 ball and make it into 3rd place.

TLR…given a team in a clear rebuilding year…everyone picked them to finish last or maybe a bit better…youngsters, nobodies, and masters of inexperience…where are they? 50-40 and contenders (also recently in 3rd place).

TLR and Leyland meet in the WS…Leyland’s team predicted to win “in 3″…TLR’s team wins in 5 after effectively being seeded last or next to last in many polls – in the entire postseason!.

Jim and TLR are best friends…everyone respects Jim Leyland, except he apparently is a HORRIBLE judge of character…because this man you respect SO much claims TLR as his best friend.

I’m telling you fans…when the TLR days are done, we will miss him…regardless of what you think of him personally…we’re talking about the 3rd winning’est manager of all time, here…and the man Leyland claims to have learned much from.

Despite what you think of him personally, do NOT be so quick to run him out of town…I promise you, he will be missed.

Kev, I think you are right on. Everyone may not like his style, but TLR knows how to Git R Done. Truth is, I second guess many of his bullpen moves. But, he has won about 2500 more games than I have, so I give him the benefit of the doubt. Do you think he will wear the STL cap when he is inducted into the Hall of Fame? I do, and I’ll be glad to see it!

Booing has always been part of the game. I’ve done it impartially to both sides for some 50+ years now from the minors thru the bigs. If these spoiled young millionaires get their feelings hurt, tough. The millions are not enough, they want to be babied as well? I can remember when baseball was a contact sport but not any more! Another few years and it will be as (un)exciting as golf.

Thank you enola. I appreciate your comment about booing. I agree with you totally.

Kev, I know TLR is a winner. But I won’t miss him when he’s gone. I will miss winning with nobodys, IF the next manager is terrible and so is the team. But I won’t miss anything about Tony La Russa. Dave Duncan is a different story, but he stays out of the spotlight unlike TLR, so I don’t know his personal feelings about certain players.

scott.dotson, you kinda got it right. “It is class-less [FOR A MANAGER TO PUBLICLY] criticize [TO THE MEDIA] a player or former player, or reduce playing time, for someone who is not producing or says negative things about STL (as in TLR w/Rolen and Edmonds?)– Edmonds didn’t say anything negative about STL. Neither did Rolen. Only about La Russa.

TLR didnt say anything negative about Edmonds either. I would say ignore him about any Cub. I don’t care if Albert went to the Cubs while he was there I wouldn’t still be a Cardinals fan and root for Albert. I hate the Cubs and I am just a fan. Can you imagine how much you would hate the cubs if you were actually competing against them yourself? Tony has his downfalls, but I guarantee you he is still a friend of Edmonds personally. They never had the personal issues that Rolen and him had. Just the baseball issues. **TLR is one of the best managers in the game, but he wouldn’t be if his players didn’t want to work hard for him.**

I think, overall, TLR was just trying to communicate to the fans that with the importance of the weekend series, setting the tone early with how they welcome Edmonds could be important. Personally, I think it was. You don’t have to boo Edmonds, but I just think giving him a standing O in THIS series when he is with the Cubs took away a certain edge to the Busch Stadium atmosphere that could have helped set a different tone. Could that have made a difference in the close game on Friday? Maybe…you could make arguments both ways.

Anyway…

hehe…we all SO have to go to the same game in Busch sometime…would be funny…too bad the Mulder game is in Philly…could be a good opportunity for slforre to boo :)

TLR apparently cares about winning more than his players. How he can praise a player when he’s on a good streak and then criticize when he’s not is beyond me. If I were him, I would try to cheer him up, not bring him down. I would rather have a manager who cares about both than one over the other.
I was hesitant to see that he came back because I was concerned about the talent on the team. Now I’m wondering how much longer it will be before a lot of players start leaving (especially big names), and how much longer TLR will be around after this starts.

personally, i think one of the problems in the game today is that too many players are babied by their managers…obviously, TLR’s approach works and has worked to the tune of a Hall of Fame career…i think the way he deals with players in and out of the media is a part of that approach…

Hypothetically seperating the two (winning and the way he treats players) looks fine on blogs and on paper…but it’s not that simple. You can’t just say “I wish Tony would treat his players differently – as I see it – in the media” and then expect the rest of his approach and results to go completely unaffected.

Maybe he runs guys off – clearly, Rolen’s case – but no matter what you say, you can’t argue with the results and/or the product. I’ll take the wins and expect professional, grown men to be able to deal with having a boss like Tony.

FYI – I say this as a fan whose favorite player of all time is Ozzie Smith…and my favorite Cardinal was/is Scott Rolen. In fact, I bought a Rolen jersey just last year…something I never do because you never know how long a player will be with your team…I think I jinxed him.

Hahahahahahaha!! You’re right Kevin. That might be a good opportunity to boo. The only problem is I tend not to boo my own players unless they have been stinking it up for quite some time, and still get trotted out there every 5th day…see Kip Wells. Or keep blowing save after save, which is a HUGE deflation to the entire team… see Izzy.OR when you get a lazy outfielder that only wants to play hard sometimes…see Juan Encarnacion. Other than those three exceptions, I can’t think of any time I’ve booed our players. One thing I will do is let the umps hear it, or an opposing pitcher who throws at one of our guys. Or Kenny Lofton for being a B***H!

hehe…during the shilacking we took by the Phillies in St. Louis (20 – 2)…when the ump tossed Springer, then tossed La Russa, then tossed a FAN in between innings because he moved down behind home plate and started yelling at the ump…I turned to my wife and said, “That would be me.” She said, “Who?” I said, “The fan that got tossed for yelling at the ump. As soon as Springer got tossed, I would just look at you and say ‘here are the keys, babe…see you at the car. I might have a uniformed escort with me’.”:)

I think it would have been quite interesting had I been at that game after the fan got tossed. I think it would only cause me to yell at the ump more after even seeing a fan get tossed, because then you know the fans have really gotten under his skin and he has clearly lost control.

Does anyone really believe LaRussa would have won fewer games treating Ozzie, any number of young pitchers, Rolen and Edmonds with more public respect than he has? Or playing his superstar in the All-Star game (and then blaming that guy for being a bit tweaked not to have been communicated with during the game)? I never said he should baby his players, Leyland certainly never does that, but you don’t call them out in public… Torre , who brought Cardinal baseball to the Bronx, was able to do that… and I believe he had some not-so-easy teams to manage to more wins over the last decade than LaRussa (though, I’d have to be a fool not to acknowledge the payroll differences, eh?)

No, I think you’re right Kevin. “a manager’s total approach is part of the attitude he projects on his team.” That’s absolutely right. For LaRussa, though, he has drastic shortcomings in communication with his players. That makes for a ot of in fighting, bickering, and misunderstandings. All of which falls on LaRussa as the leader.

Yeah…I think, on that, you and I agree most of the way…maybe the difference is, I just don’t care if there is in fighting…it doesn’t really bother me…I like what Tony said about Edmonds…”How many postseason did he play in before us? We paid him didn’t we? Applauded him when he was here.”…I paraphrased his words, but I think the point is essentially the same, for me…you have a contract…you are with one of (in my opinion, THE…) the best organizations and cities in baseball…you have a REAL chance at the postseason every year (on STL and with TLR as your manager) regardless of how that happens…

Just accept the fact that sometimes the best situations in life are not the MOST enjoyable…but would you rather be with a manager that gives you hugs in public but doesn’t make the postseason, or with one who makes the postseason but publically nails you a few times here and there?

And yes, I know the two are not mutually exclusive in theory…but the reality is, they are when it comes to choice…choose to play for one manager or the other, because not everyone can play for Leyland…and TLR is a winning choice, so deal with it (as a player, I mean).

MAN…Matt is going to flip out when he sees the comment totals on these two posts :) !!!

THAT is THE most awesome thing I have ever seen. It reminds me of a movie where Gary Busey made a motorized wheelchair for his nephew. Old werewolf movie. Good though.
I want one! The cooler, I mean. Not the wheelchair.

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